Under intense scrutiny for its failure over more than 10 years to conduct a recall and warn buyers of a dangerous GM ignition switch problem as cars crashed and people died, General Motors currently seems to be acting more proactive regarding vehicle defects. Though not without some serious prodding from the federal government.
For instance, just about 10 days ago, GM announced its 24th recall of the year, and its 6th recall for that very week. Our Houston auto defect lawyers note that we are not even half-way through the year yet, so there may be many more recalls to come as the company (we hope) takes a hard look at manufacturing defects and the dangers and liabilities they present.
This 24th recall of the year only affected around 8,200 cars, but brought the company up to an annual total of more than 11 million recalled GM cars and trucks so far. Toyota, which conducted high-profile recalls of several millions of vehicles over the last couple of years, is probably breathing a sigh of relief that some of the attention for huge numbers of recalls has switched to another company.
GM’s 24th recall of the year affects the 2014 Chevy Malibu and Buick LaCrosse. In these vehicles, rear brake rotors were installed by mistake on the front of the cars. You might know that rear rotors are thinner and their brake pads will wear faster and possibly lose contact with the brake calipers. When this happens, longer stopping distances as well as brake failure could occur, leading to crashes and possible injuries or fatalities.
GM says it has not received any reports of injuries or crashes due to the defect yet. The company told its dealers to stop delivering the vehicles on May 1st. It said that dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace or repair their brake rotors and pads if necessary at no charge to the customer. (Rob Maaddi, Associated Press via www.fox19.com, 5/16/14)
After finally recalling the more than 2.5 million vehicles with a deadly ignition switch problem earlier this year, GM has launched a thorough safety review. Our Houston auto defect lawyers emphasize that the company has also had to pay a $35 million federal fine for hiding the defect and has additionally had to agree to give federal authorities greater oversight of its safety procedures.
Given that many of the defects seem to relate to mistakes in design and at the points of assembly and manufacture, GM and other companies might want to reexamine the policy of paying large wages and benefits to auto workers who don’t do their jobs properly and who end up endangering the lives of everyone on the road with such mistakes. Seriously, if teachers must be subject to “merit pay,” why not auto workers and vehicle parts suppliers?
Contact the Houston Auto Defect Lawyers at Denena Points, PC if a Defect in Your GM Vehicle has injured You
If you or a loved one has been injured because of an automaker’s assembly, manufacturing or design defect, you might be entitled to a full financial recovery from that company for your needless injuries. At Denena Points, PC, our Houston auto defect lawyers have more than 15 years of experience holding automakers accountable for the needless injuries accident victims sustain due to safety defects.
Contact us for a free, no obligation, initial legal consultation. We will meet with you to discuss your specific case and to evaluate your eligibility for full financial compensation from the automaker. If you choose to hire us to pursue your case, we don’t charge you any attorney’s fees unless we win your claim for you. So contact us today to schedule your free legal consultation. You can reach us at 713-807-9500 or anytime through our online contact form.